A new regulation is in place that will make the immigration process faster in the United States, reports CourthouseNews. As wildfires blaze across Australia due to record temperatures, scientists brace for the ‘new normal.’ NOW do you believe in climate change? Previously, if you were in the country illegally you could not apply for a legal immigration visa; you had to leave the country, and, in some instances, fill out a waiver of inadmissibility because of their previous illegal status.

Courthouse News reports:

The new regulation establishes a Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver and application form to be used for the expedited process, which goes into effect March 4.

The process will allow immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who are in the United States to request provisional unlawful presence waivers before leaving the country for consular processing of their immigrant visa applications. Applicants would still have to leave the country, but because the application may be made before they leave, the family separation time will be significantly reduced, according to the agency.

“The change will have a significant impact on American families by greatly reducing the time family members are separated from those they rely upon,” according to the agency’s statement.

This is a blow to conservatives that have consistently introduced legislation and voted to make immigration more difficult, especially for those that originally enter the country illegally. There is a downside to the new procedure; as “applicant must be an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, inadmissible only on account of unlawful presence, and demonstrate the denial of the waiver would result in extreme hardship to his or her U.S. citizen spouse or parent.”

They would still have to leave the country, as well, but the time away from family would be much shorter in cases where the waiver was applicable.

This is a step forward yet back at the same time; it is a step forward in the fight to make immigration easier, but a step back at the same time, because we are a nation built on immigration.